1. Field
The disclosed embodiments generally relate to displays for computer systems. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to techniques and associated software structures that facilitate managing how video streams are directed to displays in computer systems.
2. Related Art
As the price of computer displays continues to decrease, it is becoming increasingly common for computer users to connect multiple displays to a single computer system. As a consequence, display topologies are becoming increasingly more complex, and the associated task of managing resources for the multiple displays has become correspondingly more complicated. For example, it is presently possible to drive multiple displays through a single shared link, which creates challenges in allocating the limited bandwidth on the shared link between the isochronous data streams that drive the individual displays.
The task of managing displays is further complicated by that fact that the display cards and associated software drivers are often produced by different vendors who implement different policies for managing display resources. Hence, the system behavior and associated user experience can vary significantly when a display card and associated driver are changed.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus that facilitates managing displays without the above-described problems.